Second Chance
by FleurHartz
Summary: UPDATEDHermione Granger and Ron Weasley could have had everything when they were seventeen, but Hermione threw it all away. Now she's twenty-three and thinks she's moved on, but life gives her an unexpected second chance with the love she lost. RR!
1. Regrets

A/N- Hey guys-this is just a new series idea I got the other day. So sorry I can't seem to update "As Long As It Takes"-my muse has apparently died for that particular fic. ::mourns her muse:: Anyways, here's the first chapter of my new fic. Tell me what you think.  
  
Second Chance  
  
Chapter One  
  
~*~  
  
Graduation day had finally come. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting out by their usual tree by the lake just as the sun set on their last day at Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
Hermione leaned back against the tree, her fingers interlaced with Ron's.  
  
  
  
"I can't believe we're actually leaving this place." She said softly, watching the sun glint off the water.  
  
  
  
"I can't imagine anyplace else ever feeling like home." Harry smiled sadly, feeling melancholy and nostalgic, which wasn't unusual for these last two weeks. He'd always been a pretty moody person, and something about leaving Hogwarts was really getting to him.  
  
  
  
"Oh, come on, Mr. New Quidditch Seeker for England." Hermione smiled.  
  
  
  
"You know, I'm just going by Harry now." Harry grinned cheekily back.  
  
  
  
They both laughed, but Ron remained silent.  
  
  
  
"Are you okay?" Hermione looked at him, concerned.  
  
  
  
"Er-yes, I'm fine. Just a little sad, I guess." Ron was very obviously lying, and both Harry and Hermione looked at him suspiciously.  
  
  
  
"Seriously, mate, what's the matter?"  
  
  
  
"Nothing's wrong!" Ron practically shouted.  
  
  
  
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance.   
  
  
  
"Hey, Harry-would you give Ron and me a minute?" Hermione said quickly.  
  
  
  
"Of course. I'll be in the Common Room. I think Ginny said something about a party-which is pretty nice of her since she's not even graduating-" Harry got a dopey smile on his face.  
  
  
  
"We'll be there in a minute." Hermione assured him, looking at her boyfriend's surly expression with apprehension. Ron had seemed so fine with everything this last week; she had no clue where this was all coming from.  
  
  
  
Harry gave her a little wave, mouthing 'Good luck' with a slight smile and was off.  
  
  
  
Hermione gave Ron's hand a little squeeze.  
  
  
  
"Please tell me what's bothering you." She said softly.  
  
  
  
Ron sighed heavily.  
  
  
  
"It's just-I don't-I hate this."  
  
  
  
"Hate what?"  
  
  
  
"Leaving! Everything changing! Why can't things just stay the way they are?" Ron stood up, leaning moodily against the tree.  
  
  
  
Hermione blinked in surprise. Ron had not said one word about being upset over graduation, but then again, he could be a bit of an emotional stuffer.  
  
  
  
"Ron, I don't want things to change either. But we have to grow up sometime." She shrugged, standing up as well.  
  
  
  
"I know that, Hermione! But I'm so…I'm so scared of losing everything I've worked so hard for here. I'm Head Boy, I'm Quidditch Keeper-who cares? We have to go to the real world now, and no one's going to ruddy care about that crap! I'm hardly ever going to SEE Harry anymore with this Quidditch thing, who knows if we'll stay friends? I have you, the best girlfriend in the entire history of Hogwarts, but what if we get jobs in different places? What if you meet somebody else?"  
  
  
  
Ron was working himself into a full-on rant, so Hermione grabbed him the shoulders, making him look at her.  
  
  
  
"Ron! Whoa! Dial it down a notch! First of all, you're not going to lose everything! You already have a position at the Ministry secured, Harry is not going to desert you, please, it's Harry we're talking about here-and me, come on, we've been together for the best two years of my-"  
  
  
  
"Marry me." Ron cut her off suddenly, a look of wild abandon on his face.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me?" Hermione sputtered, completely caught off guard and trying to register what he had just said.  
  
  
  
"I said, marry me! Why not, Hermione? You know I've been madly in love with you since I was fourteen and believe me, that hasn't changed, I already have a job, you already have an internship as a Healer, we could get married in a few months-hell, a few weeks! We could get a place right outside London-"  
  
  
  
"Is this supposed to be a proposal?" Hermione cut him off, feeling suddenly angry and not really knowing why.  
  
  
  
"Well-yeah." Ron said sheepishly, smiling at her.  
  
  
  
Hermione fell silent, having absolutely no idea how to respond to this.  
  
  
  
"I have a ring." Ron said quietly.  
  
  
  
Hermione looked at him as he pulled a velvet box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. He opened the box to reveal a surprisingly large diamond.  
  
  
  
"Ron…" Hermione said softly, not having any idea why she wasn't happier about this.  
  
  
  
"My dad gave this ring to my mum. When I told them I was proposing to you, she cried for hours and then gave me this." Ron smiled in remembrance, then recalled what he was doing and cleared his throat.  
  
  
  
"Will you marry me, Hermione Granger?" He said, looking up at her with a heartbreakingly vulnerable smile.  
  
  
  
Hermione crossed her arms, feeling suddenly very, very confused.  
  
  
  
"Ron, we're just seventeen."  
  
  
  
"So what? Tons of people in our class are getting married!" Ron shrugged, looking a little disheartened.  
  
  
  
"That doesn't mean it's right for us!" Hermione said, feeling her voice choke with frustration.  
  
  
  
"Why wouldn't it be right?" Ron asked, looking even more confused than she felt.  
  
  
  
"Because Ron!"  
  
  
  
"Oh, brilliant answer, Hermione." Ron slammed the velvet box shut, jamming it back in his pocket.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry, Ron, but what do you want me to do?" Hermione shot back.  
  
  
  
"I thought I just made that pretty clear." He said, sounding suddenly vindictive.  
  
  
  
Ron and Hermione glared at each other for a moment, both feeling way too many strong emotions at once that they had no idea what to do with.  
  
  
  
"You can't just throw this at me!" Hermione shouted.  
  
  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry! Was I supposed to ask your permission to propose?" Ron yelled back.  
  
  
  
"That's not what I meant!" Hermione's voice hitched slightly as her eyes clouded with angry tears.  
  
  
  
"Well, then what the hell is your problem?" Ron barked.  
  
  
  
Hermione didn't reply right away. An uncomfortable silence fell between them.  
  
  
  
"I don't know." Hermione said quietly, a tear sliding down her cheek.  
  
  
  
"You don't want to marry me?" Ron finally said.  
  
  
  
"I can't marry you. Not now."  
  
  
  
"Ever?" Ron asked, looking at her with what could only be described as a mix between tearful and shocked.  
  
  
  
"I don't know." Hermione said, not even recognizing her own voice.  
  
  
  
Half of her was screaming to say yes, marry him, what was she, insane? This is the love of your life, Hermione! But a small, nagging feeling was holding her back.  
  
  
  
"Fine. Bloody fine, Hermione. Have a nice life." Ron the ring from his robes, and without thinking, threw it into the lake. He shot her one more furious, hurt look and left without another word.  
  
  
  
Hermione watched him go, and as soon as he was inside the castle, fell to her knees, her body racked with sobs. What had she just done?  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Ms. Granger? You have a new patient waiting in Room 77." A nurse poked her head into Hermione's office.  
  
  
  
"Thanks, Rose. What's their story?" Hermione smiled, taking the chart Rose handed her.  
  
  
  
"Some old wizard- just had a little too much to drink at a Christmas party and tripped. Small wrist fracture. But he asked for you." Rose shrugged.  
  
  
  
Hermione's eyebrows went together.  
  
  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
  
  
"Miraldo Leland."   
  
  
  
Hermione shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Never heard of him."  
  
  
  
"Do you want me to take this, Hermione? It's Christmas, and you've been here all day." Rose looked at her with a face of poorly masked pity.  
  
  
  
"I'm not missing anything…Robert's on a business trip of course, my parents are out of town, Harry's with his fiancé's family, I'm pretty much on my own." Hermione tried very hard to sound cheerful about being alone, and found she had gotten quite good at it.  
  
  
  
"All right, well I got to get home. Merry Christmas Eve, Hermione."  
  
  
  
"Merry Christmas Eve." Hermione replied vaguely, opening the door to Room 77.  
  
  
  
A very jovial looking elderly man smiled at her.  
  
  
  
"Hello!" He said happily.  
  
  
  
"Hello, Mr. Leland. I'm Hermione Granger, the Head Healer at this place. So, having a little too much fun at a Christmas party, eh?" She smiled, beginning to mend his wrist.  
  
  
  
"I guess you could say that." The old man shrugged, looking at her with a very strange expression.  
  
  
  
"Is something wrong?" Hermione met his eyes curiously.  
  
  
  
"Can I ask you something?" He said, his voice suddenly sounding very serious.  
  
  
  
"Shoot." Hermione grinned a little nervously. His tone was making her nervous.  
  
  
  
"Do you ever wish things had turned out differently for you?"  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry?" She blinked.  
  
  
  
"You heard me." Leland looked at her carefully.  
  
  
  
"I'm not sure what you mean." She replied, wrapping his wrist with a magical cast and standing up.  
  
  
  
"Yes, you are. I'm asking if you ever wonder what it would have been like…if you had said yes."  
  
  
  
"Yes to what?" Hermione crossed her arms, still very confused.  
  
  
  
"Yes to who." Leland corrected, and Hermione's eyes widened.  
  
  
  
"Who are you?" She asked shakily.  
  
  
  
"Someone who deals in second chances." Leland smiled at her.  
  
  
  
Hermione looked at him for a long moment. He was obviously crazy, she decided.  
  
  
  
"Is your wrist all right now, Mr. Leland?" She asked briskly.  
  
  
  
"I didn't come here for me, Hermione." He said, his thick Irish accent laced with kindness.  
  
  
  
"Look, you're obviously drunk. I'm going to give you a prescription for some pain charms. Call a cab and go home to your family." Hermione sighed, going to leave the room.  
  
  
  
"You'll thank me tomorrow, Hermione Granger." Leland said as her hand was on the doorknob.  
  
  
  
"All right, Mr. Leland, you have a merry Christmas." Hermione smiled at him, laughing slightly as she left the room.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Hermione came home to her very nice apartment at 10:30. She changed into sweats, and curled up on the couch with a glass of wine and her cat, Crookshanks. She turned on her television.  
  
  
  
"A Wonderful Life" was on, and Hermione of course watched the whole thing, just as she always did on Christmas Eve. As she sat there crying at the end of the movie, she realized suddenly how lonely she really was. Here she was, completely alone on Christmas Eve with her stupid cat in her stupid nice apartment with her stupid sweats on and her stupid Christmas tree. Robert, her boyfriend of three months, was gone on some stupid Ministry business and had of course apologized profusely and said he would bring her a gift that would make up for everything.  
  
  
  
She didn't even really care when he got home. He was nice and attractive and had a good Ministry job, but was just so…bleh. Lavender Brown, who had actually gotten her head on straight and become a fellow Healer with Hermione, had set them up. She supposed she cared for him in a general sort of way, but there was just…not that THING that she needed from him. She never, ever had felt the spark from kissing Robert that she had felt every time…  
  
  
  
No. She was not going to think about Ron. Not tonight when she was depressed enough already. She was not going to think about their first kiss during the sixth year that had practically made her forget her name. She was not going to think about the first time he told her he loved her. She was not going to think about how letting him go was the biggest mistake of her life.  
  
  
  
Hermione put her head in her hands, memories flashing unbidden through her mind. She needed to go to sleep. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and crawled into her bed, watching the snow fall past her window until she fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"MO-OOM!! DAA-AAD!!"  
  
  
  
Hermione jerked awake, feeling very disoriented. This was not her bed. And THAT was not her arm. She blinked a few times, putting her hands over her eyes, thinking she was dreaming. She suddenly felt a ring on a very interesting finger. She held out her left hand, and saw a very familiar diamond sparkling from her ring finger. What the…  
  
  
  
"Good morning, beautiful." She heard a slightly groggy voice say from beside her.  
  
  
  
Hermione rolled over quickly, terrified.  
  
  
  
A much older than she remembered Ron Weasley was lying beside her, shirtless and smiling.  
  
  
  
He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear as he grinned at her.  
  
  
  
"Merry Christmas, darling." He said.  
  
  
  
"Ron?" Hermione choked out.  
  
  
  
"Expecting someone else?" Ron laughed.  
  
  
  
"Er…" Hermione stammered.  
  
  
  
"Mom! Dad! Get up, get up, get up, get UP!" A sudden maniacal flash streaked into their bedroom, jumping onto the bed.  
  
  
  
A little red-headed girl with cinnamon brown eyes looked at her parents with a very aggravated expression.  
  
  
  
"Can I PLEASE open my presents?" She said, sticking out her lower lip.  
  
  
  
"You know Daddy can't resist that face-let's go, princess." Ron grabbed a shirt from a nearby chair, pulled it over his head, then quickly pulled the little girl into a piggyback ride as she squealed with laughter.  
  
  
  
Hermione still had not moved. She faintly heard a baby start to cry.  
  
  
  
"Could you get him up, love? I'll take Lexi downstairs, we'll start sorting presents." Ron called over his shoulder, taking his giggling daughter down the stairs.  
  
  
  
Hermione got out of bed, and suddenly realized she was wearing nothing but a rather risqué silk nightgown. She quickly pulled on a robe, looking around the bedroom. She saw two large framed pictures on the wall. One was of herself and Ron, apparently at their wedding, smiling elatedly with Harry standing next to them. The other was of Ron, herself, the little girl she had just met, and a baby in Hermione's arms. WHAT was going on?  
  
~*~  
  
A/N- Whee! There's Chapter One! This is fun-hope this isn't confusing anyone. For a little clarification, maybe watch the Nicholas Cage movie "The Family Man." That's how I got inspired for this. Hope ya'll enjoy, please leave me a nice long review! 


	2. Meet the Weasleys

A/N- Thanks so much to all my reviewers! There's some special thank-you's at the end to everyone who reviewed. Here's Chapter Two!  
  
Disclaimer- Nothing resembling Harry Potter or "The Family Man" belongs to me. Or maybe they do… ::laughs maniacally and looks over at the corner of her room where J.K. Rowling and Nicholas Cage are being held captive:: Hehe, anyway…  
  
Second Chances  
  
Chapter Two  
  
~*~  
  
Hermione ran down the stairs into the entryway after getting dressed. She could hear Ron and…Lexi…yes, Lexi, that's what he'd said, laughing in the living room.  
  
  
  
She had to get out of here. She'd go to the Hospital, and go home to her normal apartment. This was not her life. This was some kind of dream or hallucination, and she had to get out of here to make it stop.  
  
  
  
She reached for the door knob to the front door, and suddenly heard new voices join Ron and Lexi's. Voices she knew very well. The entire Weasley clan had just come by Floo Powder into "her" home.   
  
  
  
"Where's our favorite five year old in the entire world?" She heard Fred's distinctive voice echoing through the house.  
  
  
  
"UNCLE FWED! UNCLE GEOWGE!" Lexi squealed.  
  
  
  
Hermione couldn't stand this. She couldn't see all of them. The last time she had seen any of the Weasley's was the day after she had turned Ron down. They were at the train station to get Ron and Ginny. Apparently he had written them, because she had never received such simultaneous icy stares. No one even spoke to her, except for Harry, who managed a weak "I'll see you soon" and a hug. Ron just got into the car and slammed the door. Fred and George had not smiled. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley busied themselves very intently with Ginny's trunk. She would never forget that Ginny was the only one who had spoken to her. She had grabbed Hermione's arm as she turned to leave. Hermione had turned to see a glare very similar to the one Ginny usually reserved for Draco Malfoy. It was very jarring to have it directed at her.  
  
  
  
"I hope you realize what you've done." Ginny hissed, her eyes suddenly filling with angry tears.  
  
  
  
"Ginny-"  
  
  
  
"Save it, Hermione. I just wanted you to know- you haven't ruined his life. You've ruined yours."  
  
  
  
Hermione blinked back tears of her own. Ginny Weasley had not just been Ron's sister, she'd always been Hermione's closest girl friend. To hear such coldness from her was breaking Hermione's heart all over again. The Weasley family had practically adopted her-and now she'd thrown it all away.  
  
  
  
"Ginny, please don't hate me for this. Please understand that-"  
  
  
  
Ginny just walked away.  
  
  
  
Hermione snapped out of her reverie and back into her present situation. She had to get out of here. NOW.  
  
  
  
She stepped out onto the porch and apparated to the Hospital.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Hermione reappeared in her wonderfully familiar office. But wait. It wasn't familiar. It was completely different. Suddenly alarms started to go off. Hermione jumped in surprise, as Rose walked into the office.  
  
  
  
"Can I help you, ma'am?" Rose asked in a clearly placatory tone.  
  
  
  
"Very funny, Rose. What's wrong with the alarms? Who rearranged my furniture?" Hermione laughed.  
  
  
  
"How do you know my name?" Rose asked softly.  
  
  
  
"It's me, Rose! Hermione Granger! Head Healer!" Hermione could not believe this. Had the entire world gone mad and just not told her?  
  
  
  
"Ma'am, security's on its way for unauthorized apparation. I suggest you leave now and don't make this worse."  
  
  
  
"All right, that's enough! This isn't funny anymore!" Hermione's voice was quickly getting higher-pitched.  
  
  
  
She heard security coming down the hall. Sighing loudly and cursing under her breath, Hermione apparated out of the hospital and onto the sidewalk outside.  
  
  
  
"What the bloody hell is going on?" She muttered, walking quickly away.  
  
  
  
"Is that a rhetorical question?" A sudden familiar Irish voice said from behind her.  
  
  
  
Hermione spun around to see her patient from yesterday, Leland.  
  
  
  
"Did you do this to me?" She demanded immediately.  
  
  
  
"Yes." Leland shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Well, what the hell is this? I wake up in my ex-boyfriend's bed, kids running all over the house, my employees think I've gone completely round the bend-"  
  
  
  
"It's a glimpse, Hermione." Leland said calmly.  
  
  
  
"A glimpse? A glimpse of WHAT?" She practically shouted.  
  
  
  
"Of what might have been."  
  
  
  
"You must be bloody joking-I don't want to be married to Ron!"  
  
  
  
"Are you sure about that?"  
  
  
  
"Well, I said no, didn't I?"  
  
  
  
"And you've never regretted it?" Leland raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Hermione fell silent for a moment.  
  
  
  
"Change. It. Back." She said slowly and clearly.  
  
  
  
"No." Leland said in that same maddeningly calm tone.  
  
  
  
"NO??" She threw her hands up in the air.  
  
  
  
"No. Not until you figure out what you really want, Hermione Granger. Or should I say Weasley?"   
  
  
  
"This is insane." Hermione snorted.  
  
  
  
"So's love, sweetheart. Now go home. I'm sure your family's missing you."  
  
  
  
"They're not my FAMI-" Hermione started to yell, but suddenly, she felt the same jerk behind her bellybutton she felt with a Portkey. How could he DO that?  
  
  
  
In an instant, she was back on the snow-covered porch of the modestly sized house she'd left that morning. She hit the ground roughly, falling to her feet and unable to stand due to the ice patches. Oh well. Maybe she'd just stay right here until Leland got his cocky Irish ass back here and made her life right again.  
  
  
  
"Went a little heavy on the eggnog already, Hermione?" She heard someone say from behind her.  
  
  
  
Hermione spun around to see a slightly older but still very familiar Harry Potter strolling up the front walk, arm in arm with Ginny Weasley.  
  
  
  
What the hell? They'd never even dated…  
  
  
  
"Hey, Harry…Gin." She said Ginny's name cautiously, waiting for an angry outburst.  
  
  
  
Ginny just laughed, helping Hermione to her feet as Harry lugged the presents.  
  
  
  
"Your own Christmas party, and you're already wasted," Ginny teased, shaking her head, "Hermione, what would your children think?" She said in a mock disapproving tone, linking arms with Hermione.  
  
  
  
Hermione blinked in shock but quickly recovered.  
  
  
  
"You know those WAA meetings just aren't helping." Hermione shrugged.  
  
  
  
"WAA?" Harry questioned.  
  
  
  
"Wizardering Alcoholics Anonymous." She grinned.  
  
  
  
"Oh, of course."  
  
  
  
Suddenly, Ron appeared in the doorway.  
  
  
  
"Last minute Christmas shopping?" He questioned, obviously confused and a little worried by her sudden disappearance.  
  
  
  
"Just needed a little fresh air." Hermione said weakly.  
  
  
  
"Well, Jackson's about to have a coronary if you don't feed him." Ron grabbed her arm, leading her back into the house, looking upset.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry, darling, I just…had a fit of the holiday blues. Had to be alone for a moment."  
  
  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
"I knew that eggnog was a bad idea." He grinned.  
  
  
  
"Shut up." She smiled back, and was suddenly surprised how easy it was to fall back into their easy banter that had been famous for at Hogwarts. Her heart suddenly twisted slightly.  
  
  
  
"I'll go…feed him then." She said quickly.  
  
  
  
"All right, love." Ron absently kissed her, walking back to the room with the Christmas tree.  
  
  
  
Hermione watched him go, his familiar tall frame filled out only slightly and rather pleasantly by age. She felt a familiar tingle shooting through her veins. This was too bizarre.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Hey, little guy," She walked over to the crib, where her son was crying hysterically, his little face red.  
  
  
  
He looked like he couldn't be older than a year old, but already had many shared characteristics from herself and Ron. She lifted him from his crib, just looking at him for a moment. He was so clearly her child, but so strangely unfamiliar.  
  
  
  
"I'll bet you're hungry." She said, unbuttoning her blouse and sitting down in the rocking chair.  
  
  
  
Hermione looked out the window, watching the snow falling. She heard so many familiar voices she'd missed terribly talking and laughing downstairs. The child she'd always wanted but never had rested contently in her arms. She thought of Ron smiling at her again, something she hadn't seen in six years but had missed desperately.  
  
  
  
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.   
  
~*~  
  
A/N- There you go! Chapter Two! And I actually sat down and planned this entire fic out, so expect updates pretty regularly. Here's a little shout to all my reviewers for Ch. One- please review this one too!  
  
*Catgrl52- come on, this is me-die hard R/H shipper. Don't be so sure about that ending…  
  
*Blue.Rose.Marcella- Thanks so much for the kind words babe! And I know what you mean about guys who are good with kids- I just melt.  
  
*Ron Weasley2- I know- Hermione was being an idiot. That was hard to write!   
  
*Lesa- I hope you liked this chapter too!  
  
*Astounded- I plan on ending very differently than the movie. That was such a disappointing anticlimax to such a cool movie. Don't worry.  
  
*Alwaysright1- I'd call Hermione lucky!  
  
*OneDayFamous- Don't worry about the R/H goodness. It's coming. They are married, after all…  
  
*koolcatt- Let's just say the ending of that movie was the one thing I thought was bad about it. So you'll see…  
  
*May- Thanks babe!  
  
*Shearer- Yay! You used the word "lurve!" That's like the best word in the world!  
  
*Katos- Hello sister! Thanks for reviewing, I can always count on you to leave me a good one! 


End file.
